New user here and it's not looking pretty

[tmbomber]

Hello Everybody.

I built my own MendelMax 1.5 from a kit. (video showing what I have here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOZJaruzslo other videos on that channel)
(The issues I mention in the video about the Z coupler have been fixed, btw)

As you can see, I've printed quite a bit that's turned out rather well. I bought S3DCreator because I have parts to print that will require rafts and support material & slic3r alone wasn't performing for me.

In the video you can see a fan mount being printed. Here are a few pictures of the same .slt file that I've printed using S3DCreator: http://imgur.com/a/lx0az

The print was made with raft (2 layers) and support turned on. As you can see the second raft layer didn't bridge the first layer in a lot of places, the circles for the holes are very distorted, and when it started laying down the bottom of the part the layer wasn't solid (very "thready")

Here's a pastbin of the generated gcode: http://pastebin.com/JhrKDvt9

For comparison, here's a pastebin of the gcode from slic3r: http://pastebin.com/PWt4xFta
I've printed eight of these fan adapters using Slic3r with no problem.

I read the quickstart guide and faq, but I'm unsure I have taken care of everything I need to to get S3DCreator set up for my machine...

I selected prusa/mendel in the initial setup screen.
Under tools>options>Machine and verified my bed size.(might need to uncheck "flip Y axis there")
Under FFF settings I selected PLA and medium quality.
checked include raft, include support.
Under advanced>extruder I have extrusion diameter at .4mm
all other settings at default except under the "other" tab I set filament diameter to 3.00 mm (which is the size of my filament)

Does anybody have any suggestions as to what I should check or adjust in the software?

Paul

[jimc]

From the pics it doesnt look like the first layer is going down at the correct height. Like its printing off the bed too far.

[kaink]

Your raft infill is only at 15%. I would turn it up to at least 75%-100 to get good adhesion.

[tmbomber]

Ok, made 3 changes and things are looking better so far.

jimc, the bed is level and the home distance was checked in multiple places (sheet of paper method)
You're right, though, there are a few places where the PLA didn't adhere to the bed. I noticed the print speed for the first layer was a lot faster that what I was running on Slic3r. First Layer Speed defaulted to 90%. (I think) I cranked that down to 30% (I have time) and the first layer went down nicely (adhered at all points)

kaink, I changed the raft infill to 75%. The first raft layer went down with almost no gap between the cross-hashing. With the raft so dense I'm wondering how difficult it'll be to separate the raft from the part. We'll see how that turns out.

On my own I noticed that the Extrusion multiplier was set to .9, I upped that to 1.0.

So far it's looking rather nice. It's about 30% done at the moment. I'll keep y'all posted.

Paul

[tmbomber]

Ok... that one's done.

http://imgur.com/a/E8Gyv

Print looks great. first layer stuck to the tape rather well. Removing it from the tape only tore one little bit of tape off the glass...

Slight problem...

the raft is "On There". Not coming off at all. The part is still usable, it's just two layers thicker than it should be.

Trying again with raft infill set to 45%.

I'm noticing we can add setpoints for temperature and cooling by the layer.
Is there any documentation that specifies how these should be set?

Exactly how hard should it be to get the raft off???

Pertinent settings for raft on the FFF Layer tab are:
Include Raft checked
Raft layers:2
Raft Offset: 3mm
Raft Infill: 45%

First Layer Settings
First Layer Height: 90%
First Layer Speed: 30%

[jimc]

i cant really help you on the raft since i have never printed with one. glad to see you are getting that 1st layer down better. the bed might be level but in that pic it just looked as if the plastic wasnt being pushed down on the bed enough like the 1st layer height was too high. the edges of each line should just touch. if there is a space then set the height either with your z endstop or in the creator software. too tight and the tip of the ext makes ridges and pushes the plastic around. im a bit of a nut about the first layer. if its not dead nuts ill cancel right away, adjust my endstop and start again until its right. its such a micro fine adjustment to get that perfect. for cooling i dont think that part of it would be any different that what you are used to in slicer. for pla usually the first couple layers the fan is off then 100% for the rest of the print.

[tmbomber]

Well.... http://imgur.com/APR9nsl

First layer went down fine again... print completed ok... Raft not separating at all.

If the raft won't peal off, it's not a raft...

Is anybody here successuflly using a raft??? If so I'd love to know what your settings are.

(Raft and support material are the reason I bought the software. If it's no better than Siic3r...)

As to first layer height, I added a fine adjust to my z axis end-stop, so I have fine control of it's adjustment.
(The coupler issue I was having before has been resolved)

[jimc]

did you try and increase the raft offset?

[tmbomber]

It's presently set to 3mm, not sure that would help seeing the large circular raft area exposed in the center hole. It seems raft offset would just give a larger border around the outside of the part.

I'm thinking that playing with the temperature and cooling of layer 2 might be the key... I need good adhesion of layer 1 to the bed, and poor adhesion of layer 2 to layer 3.

Heading home for the day, I'll try all that tomorrow...

[kaink]

I only use the raft on parts that have a small contact patch on the bed or very large parts that tend to warp. I usually print my rafts solid, then just trim with an xacto. I dont have too many things that fitment matters on that side, so the extra 2 layers doesnt matter. If it has holes the 2 layers cut very easy. I havent found a good way to get a clean bottom with a spread out raft. They come off like strings and make dimples in the bottom of the parts.